German Shorthair Gets Name, Reader Gets Bino Dock
Photo depicts a brown and white German Shorthair puppy lying in short grass.
Our "Name The German Shorthair Pup and Win a Bino Dock" contest brought us 170 good names for this feisty German Shorthair. We've settled on one, but before we announce the winner, let me thank everyone who contributed. You folks had some great names and interesting reasons for choosing them, which made the selection hard. Here are just some of your suggestions we liked:Tilly Barber suggested Stitch. Brad and I like that. Easy, one syllable name that doesn't sound like any common training commands. You can put some lung into it, too, on the odd chance that your little snitch Stitch disappears into the vast CRP grass of an overloaded South Dakota pheasant covert.Ryan Coates and Gaspare Bruno both offered Hilda, which didn't immediately impress me until I read Ryan's explanation: Colonel Klink's voluptuous, flirtatious secretary on the 1960's TV show Hogan's Heroes was a Hilda. That dog could hunt!Gary Wheeler came up with Powder, a natural for a hunting dog. But as we tried it out it morphed too easily into Potter which I pronounced in our lazy American way as Podder, which sounded too much like Plodder, and we don't want a plodder for a hunting dog. Sorry Gary. (Maybe if we had two pups they could be Powder and Shot.)Doug Whitaker tried Fred. Doug, that was my grandpa's name on whose land this dog will soon be hunting, so that would have been fitting. But I couldn't see myself chastising Fred for rolling in cattle dung. Besides, this pup is a Fredericka.Timothy Fremming liked Poughskeepie, pronounced P0-skeepy, which would have been quickly shortened to Skeep, I imagine. Nicer when spoken, but reading it in print would have translated to Poughkeepsie NY or PA for most, I fear. Besides, typing Poughskeepie in articles would have really worn me out! I do like Skeeps, though. Thanks Tim.Kirby Baltzer tried Freckles. Nice, but seems more appropriate for a cute, cuddly house dog. Still, we're enjoying the increasingly bold freckles emerging from Pup's coat.Bill Fulcher wanted Shatzi, German for sweetheart. Not bad, Bill. Not bad at all.Several readers tried Hershey, for obvious reasons, but I've met too many brown dog's with that title. I tried Ghirardelli as an alternative chocolate name, but if I'm too lazy to type Poughskeepie...J. Stead offered Chigger, but that's an itch we don't want to scratch. I can see a battle scarred old hound wearing this title.Sundae was James Rusnak's contribution. Now that's clever. Fudge-topped Sundae.Duane Bueber thought Bingo was a winner, but we're not sure we can wait for this German Shorthair to point five in a row. Eins, swei, drei...Segen, German for "blessing," was Andy Chumbley's entry. I like the German names for a German Shorthair, but this one reminds me of Carl Sagan when spoken. Besides, you never know if a pup is going to turn into a blessing or a curse!Kona, a Hawaiian town, hosts the Ironman triathlon. Daniel Curnan thought that was appropriate for a hunting dog that will tough out the miles, day after day. Or maybe she'd inspire hot, verbal, volcanic eruptions from her trainers from time to time.Clay Knutsen: Cocoa-Pups. Now that's both clever and cute, Clay.Care for a cold beer at the end of a hot pheasant hunt? James Canitz thought Birgit -- pronounced Beer-git -- would work. It means splendid or strong. "After the hunt, send Birgit for a beer." Like "Beer-git, get beer." Hmmmm.Rick Bowden: Gretchen. "Fetchen Gretchen." I like it. Chuck Wilds also voted for Gretchen.Kirk Harden wanted Blink, but we don't want a pointing dog that blinks birds.Betsy liked Darrell Holland's suggestion of Chestnut, but I'd have shortened that to Chessie and that risked confusing this German Shorthair as to her breeding. We won't even entertain Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.Jazzmine with an emphasis on Jazz came from Garry Pruitt. Betsy really liked this one, but she was outvoted. Maybe the next dog...Michael Wood offered Autumn, an inspirational name already taken by a friend's dog.How about Tass? Kevin Canada tried that, short for Tassel, referencing Ichabod Crane's dream girl in The Legend ofSleepy Hollow. Didn't turn out so well for Ichabod, so we'll pass on Tass.Michelle Boedigheimer wanted Bolt. Michelle, we want this pointer to be steady, not to bolt! Of course, we might have gotten a jolt from Bolt. She might yet earn that handle. Fast as a lightning bolt?Shannon Morgan offered a name Betsy likes so much that she wants to reserve it for her next dog. So, Shannon, watch for our next dog naming contest (later this summer) and enter that name again! We won't disclose it here.Several people wanted Dakota. Great name and appropriate considering where we hunt roosters, but I've been meeting too many Dakota dogs lately, and Dakota doesn't quite capture the German Shorthair heritage.Sheldon Rhoades submitted Sage. A good option considering all the sage she'll be hunting through in Idaho. This one's a contender...Several readers pushed for Heidi, a classic German name, and Carlos Gonzales tried Taz, which ranks right up there with Jazz and Tassel. Maybe JazzTazztic?Finally, a gentleman named Joel Rouvaldt grabbed our attention with Cricket. Even though it breaks my single syllable rule for clarity, I like the flavor of the word. We can shorten it to Crick, reminiscent of a creek, or drag out the "it" to really drive home a point. Almost like using a child's middle name. Something about Cricket (probably Jiminy) suggests a happy, honest, easy going, yet lively nature, and this pup has that. So Cricket she is! We'll be shipping Joel his Bino Dock as soon as he provides an address.Thank you all for helping us out with your wonderful suggestions. We hope we run into many of you in the upland bird coverts over the next decade or so. If you see a brown-headed GSP leading a couple of hopeful young codgers toward the next flight of feathers, stop and say hello to Cricket.
